


The Hawk and the Tangled Bellflower

by nonnahsshannon



Series: Knights Upon a Time [3]
Category: Merlin (TV), Once Upon a Time (TV), Rapunzel - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Damsels in Distress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2014-04-26
Packaged: 2018-01-20 19:51:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1523504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonnahsshannon/pseuds/nonnahsshannon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwaine is on a mission to save a fellow knight who is rumored to be trapped in a hidden tower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hawk and the Tangled Bellflower

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third in the series of growing idea. I hope you enjoy it.

The sounds of rushing water filled the vicinity. In the middle of the hidden valley stood a stone tower. The tower was bleak compared to the surrounding lush landscape, and the tower itself hid a great secret and had for many years.

 _Past_ :

_He ran through the forest dodging anything in his path. He ran from what seemed to be an invisible threat though she was a very real threat. He had no idea where she would come from and when. So he desperately continued on._

_“Oh Rapunzel!” The voice rang out through the forest and is very quickly followed by chilling laughter. The voice itself was filled with mocking joy, happily feeding off his fear. He ran faster, but his hair was hindering his progress. It was heavy and kept managing to snag on almost everything, but he kept pushing forward. Absolutely desperate to get away from this voice._

_“Rapunzel!” the voice was closer now and his heart jumped to his throat. His hair caught on another branch and no matter how much he tried, he could not liberate his hair. He tugged and he pulled and after every pull becoming even more desperate. The forest itself could feel her getting closer and tensed in her imminent arrival._

_As the voice appeared, he had taken out a blade. “You do not want to do that dear Rapunzel.” She cautioned still mocking, but he was more desperate than she realized. He would do anything to get away from her._

_“Yes I do!” The conviction in his voice told her that there was no other alternative and with that he cut off all of his long luscious blonde hair. Part of the magic was gone and her skin began to slowly turn back into that sickly green color._

_“No!” She grabbed a hold of him and in a cloud of green smoke they disappeared from the forest and into a tower. “For what you have done, you shall be trapped here and I will personally make sure that no one will ever find you.” She cackled and then vanished again in the smoke that was the same color of her slowly changing skin._

Present: In a village about a day way from the tower sat a man at the local pub. He was rugged and gave off an aura of daring. He had long brown hair and whiskey brown eyes. He was enjoying the revelry in the pub, where everyone was in a jubilant mood and enjoying the night. He looked the part of a regular patron, but he was here for a completely different reason. He had been traveling nomadically and searching for any glimmer of news about the person he was looking for. He had been led here because of rumors of someone trapped in a tower.

“Have you heard anything about a person trapped in a tower?” He slid a coin over to the bartender discretely.

“There have been tales for many years of a woman trapped in a tower by a witch. This tower is said to be about a day away from here in the deepest part of the woods. The entrance is hidden, but most people are too afraid to even venture out towards there to know if that is the truth. Most are too afraid of what the witch might do to them if they were caught out there. She is a terror around here with people going missing, flying monkeys, and more. Beware of the dangers.” The bartender warned him, but he knew that it was a lost cause. This man in front of him would not listen to reason and would charge directly into the line of fire.

“Thank you my good man” He tipped his glass at the man and disappeared within the crowd. Blending in so if anyone was working against him he would go unnoticed.

He rode through the night, the seriousness of his mission urging him on. He slowed his horse to a stop in a heavily wooded area and dismounted. The area felt just as Ariel said it would and his talisman shined brightly, so it was a big indicator that he was in the right place. He felt along the stone and when his hand hit a snag, and he pulled. There opened a crevice in the rock-face large enough to fit one person through. He carefully walked through the tunnel and it eventually began to widen. It widened out and light flooded out into a hidden valley and with sounds of rushing water. In the middle of the lush grass stood an almost picturesque tower with a beautiful waterfall flowing behind it. Ivy was healthily growing up the side of the tower. As Gwaine was walking towards the tower he could feel this darkness wash over him. It made him recoil and shiver in repulsion. The talisman glowed and allowed him to continue on towards the tower. As finally reached the tower, he was puzzled on how to reach the top. A perimeter check showed no door anywhere, no ladder to climb up to the window, so he would have to get creative.

He tugged on the ivy and noticed that thick vines where hidden in them. The ivy was a clever cover for the vines. Never one to back down from a challenge, he grabbed a vine and began to climb. Whoever grew these plants had made them to be supernaturally strong. It took him a few minutes to reach the end of the vines and unfortunately they were not long enough to reach the top. It was only just a little bit off from being a safe distance, but he knew that he had to somehow get in there. Even if the person trapped in there wasn’t who he was looking for they still needed help. He took a deep breath before beginning to swing his body until he was able to vault into the window.

He landed on the edge of the window sill and everything inside seemed dark and dreary. It looked as if no one was living there, but looks can be deceiving. The place looked as it does because whoever was living here was fearful of who could be entering their home. He looked around trying to see if that person was in the room, but there was not much lighting to help him.

“Gene?” He whispered into the darkness. He heard a shuffle and the noise of someone bumping into something, but no one appeared. “Gene is that you?” He asked again louder, his curiosity beginning to get the better of him.

“Gwaine?” The familiar voice inquired softly as if they were afraid this is all a trick.

“Yes” He answered hoping they would come out.

“Tell me the first thing I ever said to you.” The voice demanded giving him a test.

“Well you asked me to buy you a drink after putting up with quote my terrible flirting unquote.” He sassed back.

A laugh could be heard and then the door opened. Out walked a Gene, a little more haggard than normal, but it was him all the same. “I have missed your sense of humor…and your unending flirting with anything that moves.” He came closer and his green eyes shined brighter at just being around a familiar person. Especially one that will bring no harm to him.

“So…” Gwaine dragged his sentence along purposely, “You ready to get out of this place?”

“Just give me a minute.” Gene disappeared into the other room and the sounds of rustling could be heard before he returned with a bag in his hands. “Before we go, she’ll know that I am not here any longer.”

Gwaine went into the other room and out of curiosity Gene followed. “Not with this.” He stated as he brought an object out of his pocket. It seemed like an ordinary necklace, but when he put it on the pillow, it changed the pillow into a copy of him.

“How?” Gene was gob smacked at his exact copy staring back at them

“It is something Ariel cooked up just in case anyone needed it. It works by the user concentrating on what they want the object to become. In this case, you! Now let’s get out of here.” They exited the room and walked over to the window. Instead of climbing down the vines again, Gene brought out a rope that looped through a hook in the ceiling. They then used this to get out of the tower and far away from it. Once they were back in the forest, they noticed that Gwaine’s horse was just where he left it and contently on munching on apples. They both mounted on the horse and rode further into the forest.

“I’m pretty sure that this is not that way to civilization.” Gene snarked from the back of the horse.

“Who said we’re going to **that** civilization.” Gwaine laughed and the talisman he had been wearing started to glow again and a portal opened up to a new world.

* * *

It was a small seaside town filled with noise and various people. Though being small stopped no one from compressing into the town. Sitting at a table outside a restaurant sat two people. One was a red head whose eyes has not left the water in minutes as if it was telling her something. The other was a dark haired man who had the same thoughtful expression but was fixated at her.

“Anything interesting?” He inquired.

“Nothing yet, but there are suspicions.” She answered finally turning away from the water and focusing on him.

“So where do you think they are?” They had gotten a message the other day that Gwaine had thought he had found Gene, and would come back with or without finding him to report in.

“Knowing Gwaine, probably stopped at a pub.” They both laughed at this statement.When their laughter died down they heard someone having a loud conversation.

“It’s always an adventure with me.” A male voice stated.

“That’s one way of putting it” Another male voice shot back.

“So now that you’re out what is the first thing you’re going to do?” The first voice questioned the second.

“Well a haircut sounds like an apt decision.”

“Yeah well with that hair.” The other voice joked before they came into view. There stood two familiar men and they were just the ones that they had been waiting for. They both stood up and waited for the others to notice.

“Took you long enough.” The female told the familiar men.

“Sorry Ariel, I saw a pretty lady and just had to follow her. Merlin! You look exactly the same, I thought being tree would have changed a man-”

“Then I had to pull Gwaine away so we could meet you guys here.” The second interrupted the first before he was wrapped in a tight hug from Ariel.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Gene.” She told him as they disconnected from the hug.

“We best be getting out of here and out of plain sight. Good news while I was searching for Rapunzel here,” Gwaine wrapped an arm around Gene’s shoulders and squeezed, “I heard rumors of a bear who was once a woman in another realm.” Gwaine though fun-loving had given them another clue on how to find one of the others.

“A bear?” Merlin questioned the group.

“Merida” was Gwaine’s answer and they slowly walked out of town.


End file.
